Cannavaro wins Ballon D'or

By EuropeanFootballNews.co.uk
November 16 2006

Italian star Fabio Cannavaro has been unveiled as the winner of the annual prize to the best player in the world given by the magazine "France Football". It will be made official on November 27, and the defender admitted he would have loved to share the distinction with his friend Gianluigi Buffon.
The Italian defender was also named the World Cup's best player after guiding his team to lifting the most precious trophy some months ago in Gremany. Due to rumours, he had been approached before about the chances of him winning Ballon D'or, and he admitted that sharing the prize with Gianluigi Buffon, his main contender together with Thierry Henry, would have been the best.

This way, the prize is taken back to Italy after thirteen years, when Roberto Baggio was crowned as the best in 1993. Also, Cannavaro, aged 33, is the fifth player to have won the prize while playing for Real Madrid, after Di Stéfano, Kopa, Figo and Ronaldo.